Rain
by MissBunnySakura
Summary: Seto Kaiba's quest to obtain a certian blond puppy. (SetoxJou)
1. Prolouge: Analyzation

Rain  
  
By: Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: ::sigh:: sadly I don't own the YGO people. Oh, well. at least  
  
you can't sue me now.  
  
Prologue * Analyzation  
  
Seto Kaiba sighed as he closed the door to his top floor office. He had just  
  
got back from patrolling the streets of Battle City. It was a dark, gloomy day  
  
and it was drizzling. On his way back to Kaiba Corp. he had ran into the one  
  
person that knew exactly how to push his buttons: Jounouchi Katsuya. He  
  
never had understood why Jou could get to him the way he did, but it had  
  
always just happened. Jou had never actually done anything to him, he had  
  
never even actually spoken to him, but at the time, for some unknown  
  
reason, Seto had been compelled to be mean to Jou. He had guessed that it  
  
was because he was a 3rd rate duelist, but even then, deep down, he had to  
  
admit to himself that that was not the reason at all. He knew that Jou was  
  
actually a very good duelist, but his attempts to try and convince himself  
  
otherwise had been rendered useless. But Seto was smarter now, and he  
  
knew better. He now knew exactly why that puppy always got to him the  
  
way that he did: it was because Jou was his puppy; he just didn't know it yet.  
  
For the longest time, Seto had tried and tried to understand, and for the  
  
longest time, he never found his answer. until one day.  
  
The sky was a steely-gray, and the rain hadn't died for days. Seto had been  
  
enjoying a rare moments peace inside a small gazebo that sat overlooking  
  
the entire beach on a cliffside of emerald grass. He had been sipping a  
  
French Vanilla cappuccino quite contentedly when he noticed a blonde  
  
figure clad in blue jeans and a green jacket step up to the water's edge. Even  
  
through the rains steady downfall and the distance between the two, Seto  
  
could still recognize that figure. he could recognize it from anywhere. It  
  
was Jou. He had been staring out into the ocean, thinking something over. It  
  
was then that Seto had realized that this whole time, he had loved Jou. Seto  
  
didn't know how, or why for that matter, but it just didn't really matter  
  
anymore. All he knew was that somehow, someway, they would spend the  
  
rest of eternity together.  
  
~*~  
  
Yeah. I know it's short. it is a prologue, after all. I'll have to come up  
  
with a better excuse for the next two chapters. the longer chapters start on  
  
ch. 3, I promise! Gonna go hide now. 


	2. Sweet Inturruption

Rain  
  
By: Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, the characters still not mine. oh well.  
  
Chapter 1* Sweet Interruption  
  
On that particular day, Seto had been patrolling the streets of Battle City,  
  
sauntering on and criticizing the amateur duelists when he literally ran into  
  
someone - Jounouchi Katsuya, who fell. Normally, he would have made  
  
some snide remark to Jou about his incessant klutziness, but this time he  
  
thought differently. He simply said:  
  
"Watch more carefully where you're going, Puppy. We don't need you to go  
  
and break your neck, now do we?" Jou, however, had stared at Seto stupidly,  
  
still on the ground, but Seto had merely smiled, amused, and pulled Jou to  
  
his feet.  
  
"Look in front of you from now on, Puppy. That'll be one less pair of muddy  
  
jeans." And with that, he had stridden off. Jou had still stood there, watching  
  
Seto's retreating back, wondering what on Earth had possessed Seto. Jou  
  
wondered if Seto was dying. He just hadn't got it. Seto looked fine. He  
  
always looked fine. Jou stopped himself from any further thoughts as he  
  
felt the heat rise to his cheeks. Jou shook his question temporarily out of his  
  
mind and smiled to himself as he realized that Seto Kaiba-the Seto Kaiba-  
  
had been nice to him, touched him, and best of all, smiled at him. Jou wiped  
  
the mud off the front of his pants, put his hands in his pockets, and resumed  
  
his walk that had turned out to be nothing more than a sweet interruption.  
  
~*~  
  
I told you, still short. ^_^' Long chapters closer. closer. almost there. Gomen,  
  
again. Still hiding. 


	3. Paperweight

Rain  
  
By: Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: Yeah, you guessed it. They still don't belong to me.  
  
Chapter 2* Paperweight  
  
Seto smiled as his mind came back to the present. Jou had gotten  
  
that horribly confused look on his face that Seto had come to love.  
  
He was messing with Jou; messing with his mind and emotions  
  
just to see if he felt the same way. So far, however, he had had no  
  
progress, but he reasoned with himself. It was still too early in his  
  
genius plan to tell too much, if anything at all. He leaned back in  
  
his black leather chair, swerving to and fro with a content smile on  
  
his face. He was restless. He started playing with a little Blue Eyes  
  
paperweight he had sitting by his laptop, which was now flashing a  
  
"KC" screensaver. He knew he had work to do, and plenty of it,  
  
but as he made his paper weight dance across some folders, he  
  
began to realize that if he went on like this, he wouldn't be able to  
  
get anything done, and he knew how slow Jou could be to catch on  
  
to certain things as well.  
  
He set his elbow on the desk, his face against his open palm, while  
  
still twirling the miniature dragon, a bored expression now playing  
  
on his features. He would just have to more direct is all. a few  
  
kind words and the sudden lack of insults just might not be  
  
enough.  
  
Seto suddenly had a brilliant idea, one that was sure to let his  
  
puppy know exactly how he felt without out being. overly  
  
direct.  
  
Seto started laughing good-heartedly and spun himself around in  
  
his chair a few times, his little paperweight tipping on its side on  
  
his lap as he did so. This was going to be fun.  
  
~*~  
  
Yay! The long chapters start next! Coming out of hiding now! ^___^ 


	4. Basic Sandwich Making

Rain  
  
By: Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: They're still not mine!!!!!!  
  
Okay. I said that the chapters were longer, I never realized that they weren't that long, though. gomen! Gonna go back into hiding, now!!!!  
  
Chapter 3: Basic Sandwich Making  
  
Jou made his way to the Kame Game Shop, smiling the entire way there. He  
  
was now officially in a bonafied good mood. He tried to get his mind to  
  
wander like it usually did, but to no avail; his mind, and heart, was stuck on  
  
Seto. Jou's simple smile turned into his signature goofy-grin as he  
  
remembered Seto's words.  
  
"We don't need you to go and break your neck, now do we?"  
  
He had implied that he cared and he had said "we" as in "two" as in Seto  
  
and Jou. Jou and Seto.  
  
Jou laughed a little as he reached and entered the game shop. Yugi Mouto  
  
looked up from he and Ryou Bakura's current duel.  
  
"Hey Jou! What're you so happy about?"  
  
Jou just grinned.  
  
"Eh. It's nothing, Yug."  
  
Ryou looked at him thoughtfully.  
  
"It doesn't look like just nothing, Jou. You're blushing."  
  
Jou suddenly felt nervous.  
  
"Uh, it's just cold outside, that's all."  
  
Ryou nodded disbelievingly and turned his attention back to he and Yugi's  
  
duel.  
  
Jou sighed and plopped down on the couch between Malik Ishtar and Otogi  
  
Ryuuji.  
  
"Hey guys!" Jou said. "How's it going?"  
  
Malik just growled.  
  
"Fine until you got here."  
  
As Otogi reached over and slapped Malik on his head, Jou smiled.  
  
"Oh, Malik, lighten up. Just because I sat between you and your boy-toy  
  
doesn't mean I'm a threat. or am I?" he laughed, and soon Yugi, Ryou, and  
  
Otogi joined in. Malik just growled again. When Otogi regained his  
  
composure, he simply smiled and caught Jou's attention.  
  
"Jou, could you come with me for minute, please?" he said, getting up and  
  
motioning Jou to follow him. Jou gladly obliged, because he was hungry,  
  
and followed Otogi to the kitchen.  
  
"What's up, Otogi?" Jou asked when the swinging door was well closed  
  
behind him.  
  
Otogi's smile grew wider as he took a seat at the wooden table.  
  
"Have a seat, Jou." He said, motioning to the empty chair across from him.  
  
Jou paused to grab sandwich ingredients and then, juggling them all, sat  
  
down with Otogi.  
  
Otogi's smile turned into a mischievous grin as he leaned forward, setting  
  
his arms on the table.  
  
"It's a girl, isn't it?"  
  
Jou raised a confused eyebrow as he pulled some bread out of its package.  
  
"What's a girl? What're you talking about?"  
  
"Why you're so happy. You ran into the girl you like on the way over here.  
  
Am I right?" Jou sweat dropped, mayonnaising his bread.  
  
"Uh. something like that."  
  
Otogi sat back triumphantly in his chair.  
  
"I knew it! I am a ladies' man, after all!"  
  
Jou rolled his eyes.  
  
"Otogi, you're gay. You're with Malik."  
  
Otogi's face fell.  
  
"Shhhh! They don't need to know that! I can still charm the best of them, ya  
  
know."  
  
Jou fell out of his chair, sweat dropping. When he got back up (still sweat  
  
dropping) he pulled out some cheese from its deli bag and avoided looking  
  
at Otogi in the eye. Otogi, however, had other plans.  
  
"So, who's the lucky girl, huh? Is it still Mai? Cuz I thought you gave up on  
  
her a while back?"  
  
Jou slightly shook his head, mainly focusing on getting some good lettuce  
  
leaves.  
  
"Uh, no. It's not Mai."  
  
"Ooooh. Then do I know her? Who is she? It's not Anzu, is it? Cuz ya know,  
  
Honda would kick your ass."  
  
"No. It's not Anzu either."  
  
Otogi sat silently for a moment, going over a mental list of girls he knew in  
  
his head, trying to figure who this mystery girl was. It wasn't working.  
  
"I give up, Jou. Who is she? Who's the girl?"  
  
"It's not a girl, okay?!" Jou yelled, standing up and slamming the pickle jar  
  
on the table.  
  
Otogi had gotten so scared that he fell backwards in his chair. When he  
  
regained his composure, he peeked over the side of the chair at Jou, who was  
  
now calming, and sitting, back down.  
  
Otogi timidly stood up, gingerly and carefully stood the chair back on its  
  
legs, and held onto the back of the chair for some form of emotional support.  
  
"You-you're gay?"  
  
"So? You are."  
  
Otogi knew that Jou was misunderstanding what he had just said.  
  
"No! No, I'm not saying that I'm not, or that it's a bad thing. I just- I just  
  
never suspected you, that's all."  
  
"Yeah, well." Jou trailed, pulling a few slices of tomato from their tub, and  
  
keeping his eyes planted firmly downwards.  
  
Otogi smiled apologetically as the kitchen door swung open revealing Ryou.  
  
"What's happening? We heard some yelling." Ryou asked, worried.  
  
"It's nothing! Jou yelled a little too quickly.  
  
Ryou picked up on this. He quickly needed a surefire way to get Otogi out of  
  
the kitchen so that he could talk to Jou alone. Bingo!  
  
"Oh! Otogi, Malik's looking for you." Ryou said, as if he had forgotten.  
  
Otogi nodded and ran out of the room. Ryou smiled as he went and sat in  
  
Otogi's forgotten chair as Jou took the first bite of his sandwich.  
  
Ryou stopped smiling and put on his worried look again.  
  
"Jou, what's the matter? Did Otogi say something that he shouldn't have?"  
  
Jou paused to finish chewing and to think that question over.  
  
"Uh, no. Not really."  
  
Ryou eyed him suspiciously.  
  
"Please tell me, Jou. You know you can trust me; I'm one of your best  
  
friends. I just wanna help. Hopefully I can. if you'll let me?" he finished  
  
sincerely.  
  
Jou considered telling Ryou. He was right. He could trust him.  
  
Jou continued his thinking, slowly chewing his sandwich, when he realized  
  
that it would probably be a good idea to tell Ryou.  
  
Ryou was looking at Jou pleadingly when Jou nodded slightly, swallowing  
  
the last of his sandwich and the lump in his throat.  
  
"Alright, Ryou. I'll tell you what happened. On my way over here, I ran into  
  
the person that I really, really like - possibly love."  
  
Ryou's eyes lit up.  
  
"Really? Who? Who?"  
  
Jou fiddled with the remaining crumbs on his plate.  
  
"Uh. Seto."  
  
Ryou blinked, but his smile did not falter.  
  
"Seto? Really? I thought you hated him?"  
  
Jou's jaw dropped.  
  
"Ryou? Why aren't you freaking out?"  
  
Ryou was genuinely confused.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"I like boys!"  
  
"So?"  
  
"So? So I'm a boy, too!"  
  
"Uh-huh. What's your point?"  
  
Jou calmed down and slowly smiled.  
  
"Nothing. I just thought that you might find it a bit. uncomfortable. That's  
  
all."  
  
Ryou got up and smiled, walking over to Jou and giving him a friendly hug.  
  
"Jou, just like Otogi and Malik, you're our friend, we're your friends. It  
  
wouldn't matter if you started cross-dressing and decided to change to  
  
change your name to Josie. You'd still be our friend. And that's the truth."  
  
Jou smiled as they heard a loud crash from the living room.  
  
Ryou sighed as he turned to the kitchen door.  
  
"That could be done by only one person. Bakura!!!! What did you do this  
  
time?"  
  
There was a pause from the living room, followed by a bad impression of  
  
Yami.  
  
"It's not Bakura! It was me, Yami, the stup- uh, great and wonderful  
  
::cough-not-cough:: Pharaoh! I did it!"  
  
Ryou sighed and turned to Jou.  
  
"Sorry, Jou. I have to go deal with my baka yami. We'll talk more later,  
  
okay?"  
  
He finished with an apologetic smile as Jou nodded, his own smile returning  
  
to him. Satisfied for the time being, Ryou headed out to the living room.  
  
Jou suddenly felt great. In fact, this whole situation was great. He was in the  
  
best mood ever. and his sandwich had been damn good.  
  
~*~  
  
Yeah, okay. I know the whole MalikxOtogi thing isn't exactly. used. But  
  
oh well, suck it up, folks! Suck it up!!!! ^___^ Anywhoo, till the next  
  
chapter! 


	5. Stalker

Rain  
  
Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: ::Sigh:: still not mine...  
  
Here it is people! Another long chappie! Yay! Sorry about the format if it's a bit confusing. I don't know what these people at fanfiction are doing exactly...hmm, might have to install surveillance cameras... what do y'all think? Anywhoo, on a lighter note, I got 2 reviews! Yay! ::clap, clap, clap, clap:: Tankies to:  
  
katie113: Don't worry, I'm still going!  
  
Misura: Thank you soooo much for the kind words, they're much appreciated! (again, sorry about the format) ^_^  
  
And thanks to anyone else who might've read! And now without further ado, here's chapter 4!  
  
  
  
Chapter 4 * Stalker  
  
Ryou sighed again as he walked into the living room. He, however, stopped in his tracks as he saw a broken lamp and Yami wrestling Bakura on the ground, obviously trying to kill him. Ryou slowly shook his head as he went and pried Bakura from Yami's grip.   
  
"Ryou! Why did you do that? I have to make this filthy tomb robber pay for blaming me!" Yami said angrily.  
  
Yugi tried to gently tug Yami away from Bakura and Ryou.  
  
"Because, Yami. Ryou doesn't want Bakura dead. Just let it-"  
  
At that moment, the game shop door opened, Yugi letting go of Yami's arm.  
  
"Oh! Customer. I'll be back, guys."  
  
Everyone nodded as Yugi headed out to the shop.  
  
"Hello can I help- Kaiba?"  
  
In the open doorway, stood Seto, looking as smug and as sincerely good-looking as ever, his white trench coat swaying in the rains breeze.   
  
"Hello, Yugi."  
  
"Hi Kaiba. Wh-what are you doing here?"   
  
Seto smiled his ever-famous smirk as he shut the door behind himself.  
  
"Well Yugi, this is a game shop, is it not? I came because I'm looking for some new cards, and I'm assuming you carry them."   
  
"Oh! Yeah... sorry. Let me show you our new ones." Yugi finished, motioning Seto to follow him to the counter. The real reason Seto was there was that he was hoping to run into Jou. But if not, he'd just keep coming back until he did.   
  
His luck, however, was about to change. Yugi was going on and on about the cards in Seto's hand when Jou yelled at Yugi from the adjoining living room door.  
  
"Yug?! Sorry to bother you but we were wondering if you have anymore dulling mats that we can use because Yami got really mad a minute ago and he kinda tore both of yours up."  
  
Bingo. Seto's eyes flew to the door Jou's voice was coming from. It opened a crack, but Yugi stopped it and turned back to Seto.  
  
"Uh, sorry Seto, I'll be right back, but keep looking."  
  
Seto nodded as he kept watching the door out of the corner of his eye.   
  
He heard them talking, trying to keep their volume down, Seto being able to see Jou's head nodding every so often. After a few more moments, Yugi came back, Seto's attention flying back to the forgotten cards in his hands, making sure Yugi didn't see where his sights had been only moments before.  
  
"Uh, Kaiba? I've got to go find something. I'll be right back, but feel free to keep looking for what you need."  
  
Seto nodded as Yugi headed up the stairs. Seto turned around, bored with the stupid cards he was holding, and in frustration, threw them up in the air. As they floated to the ground, he thought twice and bent down to pick them up. Just then, Jou walked in the room, putting on his "I'm a happy worker!" face, not noticing that it was Seto on the floor.  
  
"Hi there, Mister! I'll be filling in for Yugi at the moment. My name's Jou. How can I help ya?"  
  
Seto smirked and, card pile in hand, slowly turned around to face Jou.  
  
Jou gasped, beginning to blush, and in surprise, stepped back until he ran into the wall.  
  
"K-Kaiba? W-what are you doing here?"  
  
Seto smirked again as he walked slowly toward Jou, Jou's blush becoming deeper with each of Seto's steps.  
  
"Well, Puppy, long time, no see."  
  
Seto stopped talking as he was a foot away from Jou.  
  
Jou backed further into the wall, if it was possible, as his heart started beating very fast.  
  
"J-Just answer the question, Kaiba."  
  
Seto coolly smiled as he leaned forward to whisper in Jou's ear, taking his hand.  
  
"It seems I'm stalking you, Puppy." As he seductively said that, lightening flashed and thunder rolled. Seto pulled back, holding Jou's eye contact. He oh-so-slowly let go of Jou's hand and left the pile of useless cards within his grasp.   
  
"Until next time, Puppy." And with that said, Seto left.  
  
Jou stood, rooted to the spot, staring out at the open door where Seto had walked through only moments before.   
  
Jou's mind was racing, and so was his heart. His blush was furious, and he was losing composure. His knees started to shake as the card pile slowly fell from his hand.   
  
Yugi walked back in at that moment.  
  
"Okay! I'm ba- Jou? Where's Kaiba? Jou? Hey Jou? Are you okay?"  
  
Jou pointed to the door as his knees began to give.  
  
"He... he... he... he..." and with that, he fainted.   
  
"Jou!" Yugi yelled, dropping the dueling mats, rushing to his now limp figure.   
  
"Guys! Get in here quick! Jou fainted!" Yugi directed toward the adjoining living room door.  
  
Ryou ran in first, dragging Bakura behind him, followed by Yami who was trying to hit Bakura, and then Otogi and Malik bringing up the rear.   
  
They all gasped at the sight of Jou.  
  
"What happened?!" Ryou yelped.  
  
"I- I don't know." Yugi started, checking his pulse. "I just walked in and he was flushed and about to pass out."  
  
Ryou wondered about something.  
  
"Hey Yugi? Who was here?"  
  
"It was Kaiba. Why?"  
  
Ryou just then understood why Jou had fainted. It was because Kaiba was there, and Jou was probably in love with Kaiba.   
  
Ryou shook his head.  
  
"Oh, well, he probably got Jou really mad, is all. We need to get Jou to the couch. Yami, Bakura, do that please. Otogi? Please fill a bowl with cool water and get a washcloth for his forehead. And Malik and Yugi? Please go get some pillows and blankets. Oh! And a thermometer, too, please."   
  
They set to work, but an hour later, Jou still hadn't woken up. Slowly though, oh-so-slowly, Jou woke up, but it seemed as Ryou and the others had gone somewhere, Jou vaguely remembered Malik saying something about food, so they probably went to pick up dinner. But instead of being alone, at the end of the couch sat not just anybody but Seto Kaiba. It was still raining, harder now, and the lamplight had long since gone out, but in the moonlight and lightening, Seto was still illuminated perfectly.   
  
"S-Seto?"  
  
"Yes, Jou?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm always here, Jou."  
  
"I... don't understand."  
  
"How could you not understand my love for you, Puppy? I've made it as clear as crystal."  
  
Jou blinked in surprise.  
  
"L-love? You love me?"   
  
Seto smirked his famous smirk and got up sitting closer to Jou.   
  
"I always have." He whispered, leaning in closer and closer, their lips only moments apart, when...  
  
SLAP  
  
Jou's eyes snapped open to reveal a certain blond-haired, lavender-eyed Egyptian hovering over him.  
  
"AHHHH!!!!"  
  
Malik just sighed and straightened up.  
  
"There. He's conscience now. You bunch of excessive worriers." He finished, walking over to Otogi.   
  
Jou didn't understand.  
  
The gang was out getting dinner. Where was Seto? Then it hit him. It had been a dream. But that would mean that...   
  
It wasn't real. Seto had never been there, and he really didn't love Jou... or did he? And when he really had been there earlier, what did he mean by 'stalking'?  
  
Jou snapped back to reality, finding Ryou and Yugi freaking out, going on about Jou hitting his head and losing all his senses, or something like that.  
  
He felt like he had lost everything...  
  
He sat up straight, waving his hands to grab their attention and putting on a fake cheerful face.  
  
"Nah, calm down guys. I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure?" Ryou panicked.  
  
Jou's eyes became downcast, his cheerful expression fading.  
  
"...Yeah, yeah... I'm fine..."  
  
~*~  
  
So, that was ch. 4. Hope y'all liked it. I also hope y'all aren't too upset (if at all) about the whole dream thing. I can't very well have them kiss now, now can I? That would just ruin my entire story! Anywhoo, until next chapter! Ta ta for now! ^-^ 


	6. Sparky

Rain  
  
Bakura's Little Disciple of Evil  
  
Disclaimer: You all know the drill... all together now... they're not mine. Very good, people. ^_~  
  
Author's Note: A fair warning, Ryou and Bakura sort of dominate this chapter a bit. I had to do it, or else we would've gotten nothing but Jou's depression, and that's never fun. The only good part of that is that you get a few amusing scenes, although nothing major. Sorry to those who thought this story would have only Seto and Jou... you gotta remember that there's other people around them as well. For the future chapters though, I doubt that this sort of supporting character domination will happen again. Oh well! Something happy now: I have 10 reviews now! Thanks to my 8 new reviewers:  
  
possessed-anarchist: thanks for thinkin' I'm a good writer! And thanks for liking my story too!  
  
phwee? yami hobo: I don't really know if "mayonnaising" is word... but it is now! ^-^ also I know Seto was a bit OOC, but that was him pretending to be nice (would never work, really)  
  
Star Light Shadow: kawaii? Maybe just a little. Also, I could've had them kiss, sure, but it just wouldn't have a good effect if I didn't have them wait. Besides, it was just a dream anyway. ^_^  
  
Rei Akita: Thanks! You got it: The update is here!  
  
Sakura: thanks thanks thanks! Here's the more more more! (sorry, I thought your review was fun ^_^;)  
  
The crazy kid with the bun and foggy glasses: Daryle. Don't try to hide. Anyway, thanks for at least reading the disclaimer!  
  
youko-moon: I'm hoping this chapter is longer...  
  
Thanks to anyone else who read too!  
  
Now, on with the show!   
  
Chapter 5 * Sparky   
  
After about an hour of being forced to remain on the couch, Jou had to sit through Ryou and Yugi's insisting that he stay the night at one of their houses, and another thirty minutes of conflict and much yelling and debating along the lines of:  
  
"Ryou, Jou should stay here. After all, he's here already, so that would mean less movement."  
  
"But Yugi, I know how to take care of people better than you do! Bakura's always falling and hitting his head and sometimes is knocked out for days!" finally resulted in Ryou winning the debate, and now we join the Bakuras and Jou on their way home...  
  
Ryou made sure Jou put his seat belt on before stealing the car keys away from Bakura, who grumbled something about the injustice shown to a dead-spirit yami.  
  
The whole ride to the house was silent, the streetlights making their own music on the interior of the dark blue Yukon and casting eerie shadows on the occupants' faces.   
  
Jou hadn't spoken since he had (untruthfully) reassured the gang that he had been all right. Well, that's really not the exact way he would have put it... devastated, would be more along the lines of the right word; the exact lines, actually. He was devastated because it hadn't been real... and he figured that it would haunt him for the rest of his life, too. He was so quiet in fact, he could hear Bakura's soft mumbling which was something more about injustice and then complaints about having to tend to the 'loud and hungry one'. Ryou paid no heed to Bakura as he hummed a little sunny tune that somewhat toned down the shadows in the car. As they finally reached the house and walked in, Jou's depressing mood was somewhat forced to change. As soon as Bakura impatiently flipped the lights on, the warm, sunny interior of the house and the bright, happy glow about it unconsciously brightened Jou to the point where he could at least smile... a little, anyway as he made himself comfortable on the plush, white couch that you sank in when you sat down.   
  
Bakura grumbled at Ryou as he put the car and house keys away.   
  
"So where's the loudmouth gonna sleep? Do you want me to throw the pillows off the couch? I'll actually be nice today." He finished, a bit proud.   
  
Ryou simply smiled and shook his head.  
  
"No. That's okay my dear yami. Jou won't be sleeping on the couch tonight."  
  
Bakura blinked a couple of times before thinking he understood.  
  
"Ryou! I'm surprised at you! The floor?!" he gasped. "That's a little too cruel, even for me, and you know how mean I am." He stated, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Yes, Bakura. I know how mean you are, and NO, he's not sleeping on the floor, either. He's sleeping in your room tonight, and you're sleeping on the couch."   
  
Bakura's face fell as he inched closer to Ryou. He got about a foot away from Ryou's face as he whispered in a suspicious way.  
  
"You're..." he paused to look around to make sure the Jou wasn't listening, then continued. "you're joking... right?"   
  
Ryou inched closer to Bakura, looking up at him and smiling a bit seductively and making Bakura extremely nervous... he never thought that Ryou could pull off that look...   
  
"...Right?" Bakura insisted.  
  
Ryou grabbed the front of Bakura's shirt and brought him down to his level, bringing his face only moments from Bakuras as he reassured Bakura that,  
  
"NO!" he yelled and pushed him away. "I'm not joking, Bakura. Now, go get some blankets and pillows out of the linen closet and make yourself a makeshift bed. And don't complain, either!" he finished as he went to the living room. Bakura stumbled back a few steps, in a state of shock, and a bit angry that it ended, because he was starting to enjoy it... oddly enough. He slowly fumbled his way upstairs and down the white hall to the linen closet, which just happened to be across the hall from his room.   
  
Ryou smiled to himself as he started to help Jou upstairs to Bakura's ::coughguestroomcough:: bedroom, and in doing so, passing a now stunned Bakura and winking playfully at him. Bakura let go of the pillow on the top shelf that he was preventing from falling and as his arm fell, so did the pillow... right on his head... and it was heavier than it should have been... and it HURT LIKE HELL. It knocked him down, actually. After about a few moments of being plastered to the fluffy white carpet (yes everything is white... and blue, too.) he sat up and rubbing the back of his head, pulled the actual pillow out of the pillowcase and found... bricks? He wondered why this seemed absolutely pointless. After all, if Ryou was scared enough to hide bricks in the linen closet he should've thought of something first: wasn't it his job to protect Ryou no matter what...?  
  
As Ryou tucked Jou in for the night, he asked the blond something before he left the room.  
  
"Jou? The customer at the Game Shop earlier, it was Kaiba, wasn't it?"  
  
Jou blinked in surprise.  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
Ryou smiled, turning out Bakura's ::coughguestroomcough:: light.  
  
"By the way you fainted after he had gone. You looked rather flushed. That... and Yugi told us." He laughed.  
  
Jou sighed.   
  
"Oh. Am I really that obvious?"  
  
Ryou smiled again, tilting his head thoughtfully.  
  
"Only to me, considering I know. Have a good night Jou. I hope you have sweet dreams, too."  
  
"Thanks, Ryou. I hope you do too. Oh, and uh... thanks for understanding and helpin' me out."  
  
"It's no problem, Jou. Now get some sleep. Good night!"  
  
Jou smiled warmly.  
  
"Goodnight, Ryou."  
  
As Ryou shut the door, Jou tried to shut his minds' door in order to block out all thoughts that had to do with Seto. Unfortunately, it wasn't working one bit.   
  
Jou sighed and sat up, the moonlight from the large window dancing through the halfway open sheer, powder blue curtains, creating a symphony and a ballet of moonbeams across the snow-white walls.   
  
Jou had never gotten his feelings this involved with something, or someone, since... well, since never.   
  
::Well, would ya look at that?:: Jou thought to himself, resting his head on his knees.  
  
::I can't believe that I've never, ever loved somebody as much as I love him... not even my own sister... of course, that's kinda weird if ya think about the context, I mean... arg! Who am I kidding?!:: he screamed at himself in his head, throwing one of Bakura's many plush pillows across the room.  
  
::I'm in love! And I hate it! Every time I try to think straight, he keeps popping into my head! And then he says that whole "stalker" thing to me... what did that mean, anyway? Ugh, probably just a sick joke...::   
  
As Jou calmed, he laid back down, trying to get to the root of his unlikely love for this seemingly cold-hearted man. He snuggled into the warmth of the sheets, blanket, and comforter as he let his thoughts wander to the past...   
  
It had been a cold, December day. The light from the sun had long since been sheltered from the harsh realities of Earth and the sky resembled a swirly mixture of charcoal and iron. The streets of Domino City were bare and lonely, and rain had been pouring like buckets for four days. Jou had been tired of being cooped up at home and had decided to take a walk. He hadn't bothered to take an umbrella; he liked getting drenched. It confirmed the fact that he could indeed feel. He hadn't been walking too long when he found himself at the park. He was cold, but he didn't care. He went and sat on an elegantly designed white iron bench. He hadn't been sitting long when someone caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Out of curiosity, he looked about a good yard ahead to where the white swing set that had been designed to match the design of the benches sat in the rain-soaked grass. He had to squint through the rains intensity at first to make out the figure, but suddenly, it had hit him. It was Seto Kaiba. At first he hadn't been too sure, but then again, he could recognize that blue trench coat anywhere... he could recognize him anywhere...   
  
Seto had always been so mean to him, and Jou would always retort his remarks. But it had been lately, for some reason, unbeknownst to Jou, that whenever he had seen Seto, he would get a weird feeling, something that had never crossed his mind before. It had felt like, well like Seto and he were attached somehow, but he could never figure it out.   
  
He had brought himself back to the earth, watching as Seto sat down on one of the swings. Even from the distance between the two, Jou could still tell that he had been wearing the saddest expression he had ever seen, and while he slightly swung back and forth with the wind, a small white dove sat upon his lap, looking up at him and cooing as if it had understood his pain. Jou watched as Seto stroked the bird's back softy, and at that moment he realized that he loved Seto. He knew then that although Seto was cold and bitter, there was more depth to him, to his soul... a depth that Jou wanted to explore and get to know.   
  
As Jou started to drift into a bewildered sleep, he told himself that he wouldn't let Seto get to him anymore than he already had... of course, some things are harder for Jou to accomplish than he would like.   
  
The next morning was a school day... unfortunately. Ryou got up bright and early-5:30 to be exact-to make breakfast. He was cooking merrily until 6:00 when he had to go in the living room to wake up Bakura.  
  
Bakura was sprawled out on the couch as much as could be, but he looked rather peaceful and innocent doing it. Ryou smiled to himself, savoring this rare quiet moment of peace, because he knew that the second Bakura was awake, it would be another day of hell on earth... a noisy hell on earth.  
  
Ryou sighed as he gently started to shake Bakura awake.  
  
"Bakura? Baku-chan, wake up, you have to get Jou ready for school." Silently, Ryou wondered why that sounded so wrong.  
  
Bakura, however, was fully awake and aware of Ryou. But he didn't want to wake up Jou, so instead he pretended to still be asleep and hugged Ryou's arm.  
  
Ryou growled in annoyance.  
  
"Bakura! Get up, I know you're awake! School starts in two hours and I still have to finish making breakfast! Now go get Jou up!"  
  
Ryou snatched his arm back and returned to the kitchen.   
  
Bakura, however, huffed, shot up and screamed,   
  
"DAMN IT Ryou! You ruin everything!" and threw off the blanket and started to storm upstairs.  
  
Upstairs though, Jou had been awake since 4:15. He just wasn't able to sleep with so much on his mind and what was worse was that today was a school day, and although Seto rarely showed up at school, there was always the possibility that he would. Jou took a deep breath and let it out slowly, vowing to himself that he would try and get over Seto; he was just probably messing with his mind to get an easy laugh, anyway.   
  
At that moment, Bakura threw the door open, bright light from the hall spilling in and almost blinding Jou.  
  
"Get up you lazy ass! I could've still been sleeping, but no, my heartless hikari made me come and get you! Now either you get out of my bed, you bed whore, or you will spend the rest of eternity in the Shadow Realm!"  
  
Jou blinked a few times as he sat up.  
  
"Bed whore?"  
  
Bakura tutted and sighed, obviously very annoyed.  
  
"Yes. That is not your bed. It is mine. Therefore you are a bed whore. Now come on." He finished, going over and pulling Jou out of bed and dragging him down the hall and throwing him into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.  
  
Jou simply stood there, next to the sink, staring at the door and listening to Bakura's fading complaints. Something still didn't make sense to Jou, though.  
  
"Bed whore?"   
  
Ten minutes later, Jou was all done, dressed, and downstairs eating one of Ryou's fresh strawberry waffles. He was trying not to pay attention to the Bakuras, however, because Ryou kept insisting that Bakura go feed their dog, Sparky, when everyone, including Bakura, knew that they actually didn't have a dog.  
  
"Ryou, for the last time! We don't have a dog!"  
  
"Bakura, do you see a dog house?"  
  
"A pointless one, yes."  
  
"Shut up, I'm not through. Now do you see a collar in that dog house?"  
  
"Yeah, it's lying on the ground!"  
  
"Sparky's sleeping! Now go feed him!"  
  
Jou couldn't help but laugh a little as Bakura mumbled "damn non-existent dog" and trudged outside with the water and food bowl and Ryou yelling at him through the kitchen window not to kick the dog house, else he'll wake Sparky.  
  
Jou sighed again (as he was doing a lot of lately) and stared at the piece of waffle on his fork. He wondered if Yami and Yugi were like this in the morning... maybe he should've stayed with them after all?   
  
Eheh... that was it... I'll go hide now... ^_^'. Until next time! 


End file.
